Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Based on Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi, the Ang Lee directed film of the same name was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and will be released on Blu Ray March 12th.

If you don't want to wait until then, though, you can enter here!

First, a bit about the film:

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

And what I thought of it: A shipwreck finds Pi (whose name is explained in the beginning of the film), alone on a life raft with a Bengal tiger. That premise is just about all that I knew based on the promotions of the movie -- and not having read the novel yet. I was, however, pleasantly surprised at just how much more there is to the story including in the lead up to them being at sea.

We learn a lot about Pi, his family, India at that time, and some of Pi's more interesting personality traits. He's a unique character, for sure.

While it is incredibly easy to get quite literally swept away with the fantastical story of a boy and a tiger alone at sea, those in charge of the story do not.

We're reminded of Pi's character and those traits we saw earlier in the movie. Keeping everything tied together yet without any of it being too much.

The ending is pretty fantastic, as well.

Life of Pi is a gorgeous movie with brilliant filming and use of color. At times the colors are only beautiful and great to look at, but other times they're magical and fantastic, truly setting the scene. Richard Parker, the tiger, does seem quite real. Yes, it's a CGI tiger, but it's quite hard to tell.

Life of Pi is a film that will take you away for a while . . . but then may bring you back with a few questions -- all very worth it.

Click below to see read (in a piece provided by ThinkJam/Fox) how Ang Lee too Life of Pi from book to screen . . . then enter to win the Blu Ray

FROM BOOK TO SCREEN

Available on Blu-ray and DVD March 12

A “magnificent and moving” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) motion picture event that has been
hailed as “a masterpiece” (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times), taking in over $500 million in
worldwide box office. LIFE OF PI follows Pi Patel, a young man on a fateful voyage who, after a
spectacular disaster, is marooned on a lifeboat with the only other survivor, a fearsome 450 lb
Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. Hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery Pi and
his majestic companion make an amazing and unexpected connection.

Life of Pi is a miraculous achievement in storytelling, inspired by a best-selling novel that many
assumed was “unfilmable”. Ang Lee was a logical choice to direct, given his track record with literary
adaptations such as Sense and Sensibility and Brokeback Mountain and in this feature we will look
at how Lee took this bestseller and made it one of the most visually stunning and spiritually uplifting
movies of recent years.

The film’s journey began with Yann Martel’s beloved book, one of the biggest publishing events
of the past decade. The novel won the prestigious Man Booker Prize, and was a New York Times
bestseller for over a year, so picking a director who could translate the source into a cinematic
spectacle was essential.

Producer Gil Netter explained his choice by saying: “Ang Lee is an artist with whom I’ve long aspired
to work, and is one of those magical talents who could masterfully take charge of the material.” Lee
is well known for taking on ambitious projects and began working on Life of Pi four years ago. Yann
Martel was very happy with Lee’s involvement; he recently said “Ang was the perfect choice because
he makes emotionally powerful movies. His projects run the gamut from the small and the intimate
to the spectacular.”

Watching his book being translated into film was a heady experience for Martel, who notes that “Life
of Pi has been translated into forty-two languages. To see it translated on film as a movie is like the
forty-third. The language of cinema is a universal one and to see the story translated that way is a
thrill.”

One of the hardest parts of the film-making was creating Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger with which
Pi shares his epic journey. For obvious safety reasons they could not film with a live tiger on the
boat so Lee relied on visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer and his CG team to help create this
fearsome character. The result of their hard work is clear for all to see and Richard Parker looks as
real on-screen as the four actual Royal Bengal Tigers which were used as physical and performance
references.

Casting the lead character, Pi, was another big decision for Lee. Surprisingly Suraj Sharma, a
newcomer who had not even intended to audition, was cast in the role. Sharma summed up his
experience by saying “I can’t even say how much I’ve gained from being in the film. Like Pi, I feel I
experienced something remarkable – emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.”

Life of Pi’s journey from book to screen was certainly not as easy one but after four years Lee
brought audiences one of the most powerful films of 2012. When asked what he thought of his
creation, Lee said, “Life of Pi, on a huge scale, is a fable of faith, in many ways, it is about the value
of storytelling and the value of sharing stories.” Between Yann Martel’s novel and Ang Lee’s film the
value of Life of Pi is hard to ignore, with both the mediums of the story touching millions across the
globe.

I was destined to read it for AP Lit but sadly they changed the curriculum when I finally took the class. D: But I have heard so many good things about the book and the movie, though I haven't watched it, looks super cool!

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